


The Garden's Blessing

by starryeyedchar



Series: Lance McClain and the Demigods of Voltron [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Percy Jackson Fusion, Angst, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Demigods, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Lance (Voltron) Angst, M/M, Major Character Injury, Minor Character Death, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-09 16:07:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15271206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starryeyedchar/pseuds/starryeyedchar
Summary: Lance is already a hero. At least, that's what everyone keeps telling him. But after the failure of his last quest, Lotor's betrayal, and finally learning everything about the Great Prophecy... he doesn't quite believe it. Can he really save all of them? Camp Half-Blood has become like a second home to him, and the campers a second family. He feels responsible for everything that happened, and he wants to be the hero they need him to be... he just doesn't know if he's good enough.Keith knows Lance is good enough, but it terrifies him that Lance's destiny is to die young in order to save the world. He wants to protect Lance more than anything, even if he knows that he can't in the end. But Lance promised him that he wouldn't go down without a fight, and Keith promised that this time, he'll stay by his side through it all, instead of pushing him away.They're both determined to take down Zarkon, once and for all. And they're going to do it together.Or the sequel that you all wanted, and you all deserve.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Six months and six days since I finished the last work! That's way too long, if you ask me, but hopefully you guys are still around and still excited for this one. I wanted to take some time to get ahead and to start this work in the summer, so here we go! This is the second work in what should hopefully be a three work series. If you haven't read the first work, go do that, because otherwise this won't make much sense. This one starts off about a month after the first one ended, so it's sometime in July of that same summer.
> 
> But I hope all of you enjoy it! Comments are as always encouraged, but especially to let me know that all the people who loved the last work aren't missing this!!! You can come shout at me on my tumblr too (starryeyed-char), because I always love going off about this AU.

“What was that?” Hunk whipped around to look at the trees behind them, reaching for his tool belt. “You heard that too, right?”

Keith snorted. “It's probably just a dryad. You're getting paranoid.” He tossed his silver dagger from hand to hand. “I can't believe you do this every time we play Capture the Flag. Aren't you bored?”

“Not really,” Hunk said. “Shay and I always stay behind to guard the flag, at least when Hephaestus and Demeter are on the same team. But the Demeter cabin's on the blue team, today. Why? Are _you_ bored?”

“Shiro and I are usually on the other side, looking for their team flag. That's the best part of the game! But just because I break the no maiming rule _one_ time —”

“Three times,” Hunk reminded him. “On the same day.”

“Matt and Pidge started the fight! I barely scratched them, but of  _ course _ Shiro takes their side of the story!”

Hunk looked like he was trying not to laugh. “So Shiro put you on guard duty with me while he and Nyma go look for the flag?”

“Exactly!” Keith crossed his arms. “He's so—”

He stopped short, and this time he definitely heard the leaves rustle behind him. The two of them quickly readied their weapons.

A moment later, Lance and Matt came running out of the forest and stumbled directly into the clearing they were standing in.

“Well,” Lance grinned nervously at them. “Shit.”

“We only use greek profanity here, Lance!” Hunk scolded, though he was now smiling, too. “I've been telling you this for weeks!”

Lance's eyes shot up to the flag, resting atop the mound of rocks behind Hunk and Keith, before darting back to their faces. Keith could see him weighing his options, and knew Lance had realized that he wouldn't have time to climb up and get it without being tagged by them. “Whoops, my bad. So I can't curse in Spanish either then, huh? Bummer.” He took a step back into the forest, then another. “Uh, sorry guys!” Lance spun on his heel and, grabbing Matt's arm, took off back into the trees.

Keith smirked. “Stay here and guard the flag!” he called over his shoulder, already rushing after them. “I'll bring them to the jail!” This was his favorite part of the game.

“No, you won't!” he heard Lance shout back in a sing-song voice, obviously pleased with himself. “You have to catch me first!”

Keith rolled his eyes, even as a fond smile took over his face. “When have I ever had a problem doing that?”  
He heard Lance laugh. “Well, how about you just—  _ woah _ !” Keith heard a thud up ahead, and instantly picked up his pace.

“Lance? You okay?”

“Go on without me, Matt!” Lance cried dramatically, just as Keith stopped next to him. The son of Poseidon threw an arm over his face where he sat on the ground, his other hand holding his ankle. “Save yourself!”

“Sure thing, Lance!” Matt called back. Keith could hear him continuing on into the woods, surely heading back to his own side in order to get reinforcements and tell them where the flag was. He debated going after him, but then Lance spoke again.

“I didn't mean actually, Matt, you piece of—”

“ _ Profanity _ , Lance,” Keith said, still smirking down at him.

Lance glared at him. “ _ Di Immortales _ ,” he deadpanned in Greek, then looked back down at his ankle and winced. “I don't suppose you could take me to an Apollo camper?”

“Nope, you're a prisoner of the red team now,” Keith said, tapping him lightly on the shoulder, and Lance groaned. “You seriously hurt it?”

“Keith, believe me, if I could I would be running away as fast as possible. You may be my boyfriend now, but I still don't want to go anywhere near you when you're playing Capture the Flag. You get scarily into it.”

“He's right!” Hunk called, from behind them.

Keith rolled his eyes. “Okay, well, come on. I have to take you to where we're keeping the prisoners. Can't stand around babysitting you myself all day.”

He watched Lance get to his feet awkwardly and held out an arm so Lance could lean on him to take some of the weight off of it, but the other boy stumbled and fell back down before he could take it. Lance grimaced, holding his apparently injured ankle with both hands now. “Uh, Keith? I... I don't think I can stand on it.”

Keith crouched down, now actually starting to feel a bit concerned. Lance moved his hands to reveal that his ankle was in fact already looking swollen. Keith sucked in a breath. “Fuck.”

“You were  _ just  _ telling me off for cursing!”

Keith ignored him. “Hunk, you keep first aid supplies in that tool belt of yours, right?”

“Of course.”

“Can you come here, then?” Keith asked. “I don't know if I should try and move him... but if you could check it out, that'd be great. An Apollo kid would be ideal but... it looks pretty bad.”

“Aww, are you worried about me Samurai?” Lance faked a pout with his lower lip before he broke into a grin.

Keith huffed. “I'm  _ always _ worried about you. You know that.”

“Well, you worry too much.”

“Maybe so, but can you blame me? I mean, how'd you even  _ do _ this?!”

Lance's smile was sheepish. “I tripped?”

“You're an idiot.”

“You were the one chasing me!”

“Could you two stop it with the lover's quarrel stuff for a minute?” Hunk interrupted them, crouching beside Lance with his first aid kit. “We have more pressing matters right now.”

“It's not my fault that Keith lectures me every time I so much as get a paper cut.”

“Well, what'd you expect? One of us has to take these things seriously! You're too reckless!”

“You're one to talk,” Lance retorted, crossing his arms

“I can  _ afford  _ to be reckless, Lance!” Keith's voice had grown in volume. They... they hadn't talked about this in a while. “But you're still not the slightest bit careful, not even when you  _ know _ that you're going to—”

Keith stopped short, but it was too late. Lance's eyes had already gone wide, and Keith mentally cursed himself. Just because he couldn't stop thinking about it didn't mean he had to constantly burden Lance with the reminder.

“I'm... I'm sorry. I'm going to go back to guarding the flag,” he said, and turned back towards the clearing, pushing branches out of his way.

“No, Keith,  _ wait _ —”

But Keith just kept walking, trying to drive the thoughts from his head.  _ Lance is still here _ .  _ Now _ . And his ankle would barely take the Apollo campers a half hour to heal. But whenever Lance got himself injured, even something this stupid, Keith just got so... angry. It made him think of what was inevitable. And he shouldn't get upset with Lance over it, he knew, because Lance didn't deserve that.

Lance didn't deserve his fate, either. But Keith was afraid that nothing he could do would change that.

This train of thought was interrupted, however, when he got out of the trees and looked at the pile of boulders.

The flag was gone.

“Wh...?”

He looked around the entire clearing, but there was no one in sight. If Matt had circled back around he would've heard or at least  _ seen _ him running past, right? So then what'd happened?

“LANCE, YOU CAN'T WALK ON— wait, what the  _ heck _ ?!”

And then suddenly, Lance was sprinting out of the forest and flinging his arms around Keith's shoulders, which sent them both toppling to the ground.

“Ugh, Lance,” Keith said, staring up at his boyfriend, who was grinning. “Get off of me. You probably just hurt your ankle more!”

Lance's smile wavered. “I'm sorry, Keith, but it was Pidge's idea! And then Matt seconded it so I figured it was a good one, right? Because two children of Athena came up with it, so it had to work!”

Keith frowned. “What are you talking about?”

A faint blush spread across Lance's cheeks, making his freckles appear more prominent. Keith suspected it had something to do with the position they were in; Lance still half-lying on top of him, still on the ground. But, as he scrutinized Lance's expression— which, by then, he could read like a book —Keith realized he looked almost... guilty?

He narrowed his eyes. “What'd you do?”

Lance laughed nervously, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck. “Like I said, I'm sorry for tricking you, and I'm  _ super  _ sorry for worrying you, but I had no choice, okay? Pidge probably would've stabbed me! Our team would've dissolved into anarchy! Anarchy, Keith!”

“I'm sure,” Keith said flatly. “But seriously,  _ what _ are you—”

He was cut off by loud cheering, and they both looked over as the entire blue team came rushing into the clearing, all smiles and laughter. Floating above their heads was the red flag.

As Keith watched, Pidge materialized underneath it; the team was carrying her on their shoulders, and she had the flag clutched in her right hand, making a big show of the bracelet on her left wrist as she waved at him.

Keith cursed,  _ not _ in Greek, and rested his head back on the ground. “Invisibility. How did I forget?”

“You were a bit distracted by my ankle, so Pidge had time to go get the flag and run back across to our side,” Lance told him. “It was a pretty great plan. What was it Pidge said, again? 'Hunk and Keith always go batshit when you get hurt, so if you're injured they'll let their guard down.' Yeah, I think that was it.”

Keith glared at him. “Do you mean to tell me that you purposefully injured your ankle just so you could win a game of Capture the Flag?”

“Oh, please, Keith,” Lance said, with a scoff. “Even  _ I'm _ not that petty. Nope, my ankle is completely fine. I'm just a fabulous actor.”

“You  _ would _ know how to act injured, because half the time you are,” Pidge called down from her place atop the crowd.

Lance stuck his tongue out at her. “Aren't you supposed to be on my team?”

“Wait, hang on,” Keith sat up, causing Lance to roll off of him with a small 'oof.' “But your ankle is all swollen up?”

“Look again, Samurai,” Lance said, with a wink. He stood, and Keith stared at Lance's ankle, which appeared entirely unharmed, and free of bruises.

“What the... How did...?”

“Allura's been teaching me to manipulate the Mist,” Lance declared proudly. “And I think I'm getting pretty good at it, if I do say so myself. It even worked on you!”

“Your... your ankle wasn't even hurt?” And now Keith felt guilty. Because of course he had to go off on Lance about making reckless decisions when he was actually following a very smart strategy. He knew Lance better than that, didn't he?

Well, they  _ had _ only been dating for a month. But... it felt like longer.

“But... I thought going to get the flag was your favorite part!” Keith said, still bewildered. “You love being the one to try and bring your team the victory!”

Lance gasped and pressed a hand to his heart, as if to feign a wound. “I don't need  _ all  _ the glory for myself, Keith! Being a decoy is a lot of fun, too. Besides,” he added. “I still technically got us this win, didn't I?”

Keith fought to keep the smile off of his face. “Maybe so, but we're going to crush you next week.”

Lance smiled, eyes glinting with mischief, and held his hand out to Keith to help him up. “Aww, Keith, can we never work together? We make such a good team!”

“Well, you're the one that decides who the Poseidon cabin allies with, seeing as you're the only one in it,” Keith reminded him. “Want to be on the red team with Ares next week?”

Lance tapped his chin thoughtfully. “I dunno, the Athena cabin is  _ pretty _ good at Capture the Flag, and seeing your face when we beat you is always a delight.”

“Of course, of course.”

“But,” Lance continued, taking a step closer to Keith and wrapping his arms around his waist. “I would  _ maybe  _ go red, with some convincing.”

“Oh, really?” Keith asked, unable to stop his smile any longer. “What might that be?”

Their faces were inches apart now, and Lance's grin was almost blinding to look at. His deep blue eyes could make Keith feel like he was drowning, in the most wonderful way.

Lance always told Keith that  _ his  _ eyes were like falling into the stars. Whatever that meant.

“I think I have an idea,” Lance said softly, and then he was closing those ocean blue eyes and pressing his lips to Keith's.

They may have only been together for a short month, but it could've been all the time in the world, for all Keith cared. He just never wanted it to end.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few days late, for which you have my sincerest apologies! This chapter is also shorter than the last one too, but I hope you like it anyway. I wasn't too sure about how I felt with it for a while, which is why I waited for so long.
> 
> As with the other work, we'll get the occasional viewpoint from another background character, but it mostly sticks to Keith and Lance. Still, you will probably be getting more of those chapters than you did in the last work. I hope that's okay? I feel like it really helps the story. Anyways, enjoy! After the fun last chapter, we're diving right back into the angst.

_A smile, bright and shining like the sun. Two deep blue eyes seemed to stare directly into Lotor's soul, and a single hand stretched towards him._

_“You're better than this,” the boy said. His voice was soft, inviting. Promising something Lotor wasn't quite sure of. “You're one of us; you're a demigod. We belong on the same side, can't you see?”_

_Lotor forced himself to shake his head. “I'll never fight on behalf of the gods. My loyalty lies with the Galra. I owe Zarkon everything.”_

_Lance smiled, somewhat sadly. “But you owe at least_ this _to yourself.” He stepped forward, lips parting slightly and eyes closing, leaning in_ —

 

* * *

 

Lotor woke up with a jolt. He took in his surroundings, and suppressed a sigh. Still in his room aboard the ship, then. He wasn't exactly surprised. This wasn't the first dream he'd had about the son of Poseidon in the past month, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

He got the feeling these weren't future-predicting demigod dreams, and he despised the fact that a part of him was _disappointed_ by that.

He brought a hand up to rub at his temples. Lotor wasn't sure if these dreams were some sort of torment devised by his mother for turning his back on her and what she stood for as she'd done to him, but he didn't want to entertain the thought that they were something his own mind could've cooked up.

Still, it was no wonder his thoughts kept wandering to Lance with where they were. A cruise ship, surrounded by ocean as far as the eye could see, did bring back certain memories.

The last time they'd spoken, at the docks... Lotor had tried not to show it, but a small part of him had been tempted by Lance's offer. He could understand why so many people had thought the Cuban boy to be a child of Aphrodite at first, even one with charmspeak. There was just something about the way he spoke that made you want to believe him.

And he was one of the only people in Lotor's life that had spoken to him like... an equal. Like he deserved more than he'd been given. Something he hadn't realized he wanted.

Lotor knew that wasn't all, though. Something in the way that Keith looked at Lance, the way _Lance_ looked at Keith that set his teeth on edge. Lotor was a child of Aphrodite, and so he'd teased other campers endlessly about their romantic involvements for the short time he'd been in camp but... this was different, in a way he couldn't explain.

Well, he probably could explain it. He just didn't want to.

_Weakness._ That's what it was, all it was. That's the only thing that came from these types of feelings, Lotor knew. He was lucky to be immune to them. Or... he'd _thought_ he was immune to them.

“I'll have to kill him,” Lotor muttered, into the darkness of the room. Because weaknesses had to be disposed of. That's what his life had taught him.

_He's going to die anyway_ , Lotor reminded himself. The thought was only a little comforting, and he once again cursed the fact that he wasn't completely happy knowing Lance's fate.

He'd much prefer if it were Keith.

Lotor had wanted Lance to accept his offer so _badly,_ and not just because he wanted Zarkon to be successful. If the Chosen was working with them, he could be an asset instead of a weakness. He could... well, Lotor supposed that didn't matter now. Whatever the case, he couldn't afford to keep having dreams like that. He'd have to ask Narti if she could help him.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts, and Lotor sighed. “Yes?”

“Sorry to wake you, but... you need to tell them the plan.” Axca. “You do... _have_ a plan, don't you?”

He rolled his eyes as he got out of bed, and strode to the door. “Of course I have a plan,” he said, upon opening it. Axca smiled up at him. “We're going into the Labyrinth.”

 

* * *

 

Coran rolled back and forth across the living room of the Big House, his centaur half concealed with his magic wheelchair. “Any questions?”

Standing with him were all the demigods who'd participated in the quest in June; Lance, Shiro, Keith, Pidge, Hunk, Allura, and Matt.

Shiro raised a skeptical eyebrow, and looked around at the others before breaking the silence. “So what you're saying is we still have no idea what Zarkon's next move will be?”

Coran shook his head, still smiling brightly despite the graveness of the situation. “No, I'm saying that we haven't seen any signs of him this past month. Who knows, maybe he's satisfied after being blessed by the River Styx.”

Keith crossed his arms. “Blessed? I'd say that's more of a curse, if you ask me.”

“And I highly doubt that he'll stop there,” Pidge said. “Everything up until now points to him wanting to actually _become_ a god. Getting that power from the river was just his first step toward that goal. By now, everyone here has heard the Great Prophecy, right?” Her eyes momentarily flicked to Lance, before bouncing away. “' _The beast who strives to avoid death_?' Zarkon wants to be immortal, there's no question. He may be powerful, but he won't stop until he's _all_ powerful.”

At the mention of the Great Prophecy, Keith's hand tensed in Lance's. He squeezed it, hoping to bring some kind of comfort.

“And just because he hasn't been making any moves for a few weeks doesn't mean we can just ignore all the things he did a month ago,” Hunk added. “I mean, he had a spy in camp! Lotor was talking about joining their 'side', they're obviously not done yet! Haggar left, too, and Zarkon himself was talking about future plans against us.”

“They're right,” Allura said. “Zarkon has been biding his time for years. This plan was one he's been working on ever since he knew about the Great Prophecy, probably since even before I was frozen.”

“Yeah,” Lance agreed. “Lotor said something about waiting in the 'Lotus Hotel' for ten years... I think Zarkon somehow found out about the Great Prophecy around the time you were frozen, maybe because he was close to camp... and then had Lotor wait until I showed up.”

Allura nodded. “We must be vigilant, then. We don't know when he will strike next, but we cannot allow ourselves to be led into a false sense of security. We must be patient, like he is, and prepare ourselves for that time.”

Shiro smiled. “Patience yields focus.” He and Keith exchanged a look.

“Now, hang on,” Matt said. “I'm all for preparing ourselves, but shouldn't we try to be sure we're the ones making the first move? So far, he's been able to use the element of surprise to his advantage. For all we know, he could ambush another group of demigods on their quest. It doesn't make sense to just wait for him.”

“I second that,” Lance said. “I think we should send some people to scout him, see what he's up to. No engaging necessary.”

“That sounds like a plan that would blow up in your face,” Keith observed, and Lance smirked at him.

“What, you got a better idea?”

Keith rolled his eyes. “No, but if we try a stealth mission we're going to get found out. Maybe if we attack them outright, we can use surprise to _our_ advantage—”

“Whatever the case may be, we should try and make the first move,” Pidge interrupted, looking at Coran for approval. “Right?”

Lance grinned. “When's the next quest?”

The centaur frowned. “Actually, I'm afraid that is impossible. Haggar, our Oracle, joined Zarkon. The only prophecy we have left to act on is the Great Prophecy, but that is not something we can spring into action ourselves with a quest. At least, not now. We do not have an Oracle, or a way to receive new prophecies, and without them going on quests is strictly forbidden. Our hands are tied.”

Allura's eyes darkened. “I have no doubt this is what Zarkon planned all along when trying to bring the Oracle to his side.”

“Like we were saying before, patience,” Shiro told them. “I know it's frustrating that we can't act, but by preparing for Zarkon's next action we can just as easily get the upper hand. Besides, if all demigods are safe in camp, he can't hurt us. And when he does make a move, we won't be slow to retaliate with all our forces behind us.”

“That's a fair point,” Matt conceded, throwing an arm around Shiro's shoulders. “There's definitely pros to waiting him out, and any advantages we could get by surprising him would probably be nullified by not having a prophecy. We'd be completely blind as to what to expect, not to mention the bad luck demigods sneaking out of camp without permission brings.”

“So... we just stay here, like sitting ducks?” Keith asked, looking around in disbelief. “No way! No matter how much we 'prepare', he'll still have the advantage until we know what he's up to! If we're going to have to fight at some point, why not attack him now? He could still be recuperating!”

Allura nodded. “We should bring him down as soon as possible, so no more lives are lost.”

“I'm not sure if I agree with the whole 'attacking Zarkon' thing,” Pidge said. “That sounds like a stupid, reckless plan in typical Keith fashion. But I _do_ think we should try and find out what he's planning. Like he said, if we do wait for Zarkon to initiate an attack then we'll be at a disadvantage. Hunk, what do you think?”

“Um... uh...” Hunk hesitated. “I... I think we'll all be safer if we stay in camp, especially since we can't have any official quests, but... at the same time, sitting around and waiting for Zarkon to attack us seems like a terrible idea.”

“We can't just do _nothing,_ ” Lance finally spoke, collecting his thoughts. “Maybe we don't have an Oracle, but sitting around here and waiting for him to make the first move won't solve anything. If we just let him put his plan in motion before we even know what it is, we're making a serious mistake. He's already got one victory on us, remember? He's already practically invincible; the odds are in his favor. We've got to turn it around. We've already been waiting to act for too long!”

Coran shook his head. “Like I said before, I'm afraid that's impossible. Even if we'd like to do something, our hands are tied. Our satyrs outside camp are beginning the search for a new Oracle, but otherwise... that's the most we can do. I'm sorry. You all may return to your cabins.”

Shiro and Matt seemed satisfied with this, and left the Big House hand in hand. Hunk and Pidge headed to the dining hall, with the latter complaining about how her brother backed up his boyfriend instead of her. Allura stormed out, definitely not in agreement with Coran's plan.

Lance couldn't blame her. “I don't like this,” he told Keith, voice soft. “I don't like just... sitting around. I feel like we're just enabling him to do something terrible again.”

Keith nodded in agreement, intertwining his fingers with Lance's again. “Trust me, I want to act, too. But like Shiro said, all we can do is try to be ready,” he said, even if he didn't quite believe it himself.

Lance sighed. “I... I just feel like the way things are going, people are going to get hurt.”

Keith was quiet at that. He would never admit it, but the idea of everyone staying safe in camp was one that appealed to him. Still, he preferred going to fight Zarkon outright, because in that situation he had some sort of control.

Control.

Keith couldn't wait until they got a new Oracle, one who would give them small prophecies, who would confirm that _eons_ stood between now and the fulfilling of the Great Prophecy, that the next thing to happen wouldn't be Lance's death.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday to my favorite sharpshooter! Have a nice, dialogue filled chapter before the plot gets rolling to celebrate! I have another canonverse thing planned, but that's really long, so I wanted to give you guys the weekly update of this AU first.
> 
> I hope you enjoy, and remember that I always love reading your comments!

“Are you guys sure hanging out in my cabin all the time is such a good idea?” Lance asked, glancing over at Hunk and Pidge where they sat tinkering with some equipment he didn't understand in the slightest. “I mean, going inside the cabins of gods who aren't your own parent is... _very_ not allowed.”

“I never said it was a good idea,” Hunk put his hands up in his defense. “I thought this was risky since day one.”

Pidge didn't look up from her computer. “We've established this, guys. If your dad cared so much about two random demigods chilling in his cabin, he'd probably have decided to smite us ages ago.”

“Oh, perfect,” Hunk collapsed onto the bed beside Lance, and stared up at the ceiling. “So, by your logic, since Poseidon hasn't killed us _yet,_ we should be good from here on out.”

“Exactly,” Pidge replied. “And my logic is almost never wrong.”

“ _ Almost _ —”

“Guys,” Lance interrupted. “It's whatever. I don't mind you being here, obviously. Though the mountain of technology is going to be hard to explain whenever cabin checks roll around.” He glanced at the small pile of devices Pidge had stocked up, all in various stages of disrepair, with the exception of the laptop she seemed to have restored completely.

Pidge scoffed. “Oh, ye of little faith. I'm going to stash it somewhere for that; can't risk anyone finding my precious goods. Just haven't found the perfect hiding place yet.”

“Why do you even keep all that junk, anyway?” Lance wondered aloud. “Most of it doesn't even work.”

“And it's a red flag for monsters,” Hunk mumbled.

“I've always loved technology,” Pidge told him, matter-of-factly. “It's... much easier for me to understand than people. Matt and I have been at this camp almost as long as Keith and Shiro, and I couldn't give it up. It won't attract monsters unless I use it outside of the magical barrier, and none of what I have is something anyone else is using. So sue me.”

Lance shook his head. “Hey, no suing here. Just curious. And a bit concerned that all this rule-breaking is going on inside _my_ cabin.”

“Bet you and Keith do your fair share of rule-breaking in here,” Pidge muttered under her breath.

Hunk gasped, scandalized.

Lance threw a pillow at her. “First of all, we do _not_. And second of all, none of your business.” He was blushing. “Third of all, don't change the subject!”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “Well, your cabin _has_ sort of become our unofficial hang-out place. But do either of you have any better alternatives?”

Hunk's face lit up. “We could use the kitchens when the harpies—”

“No,” Lance and Pidge said in unison, then met each others' gaze and burst out laughing. Soon enough, Hunk was laughing along with them.

“Yeah, yeah, I'll admit that hanging out with you guys here is pretty nice,” Lance said. “And it's become a tradition of sorts. Why try to fix perfection? Rule-breaking be damned!”

Pidge snorted, and looked away from the two of them and back towards her laptop. The screen cast a reflection on her glasses. “Speaking of rule-breaking... we're going after Zarkon, right?”

Lance sat up straighter, and Hunk nearly fell off the bed. “We're going to _what_?”

“Yeah, I don't remember that being part of our discussion with Coran,” Lance said, raising an eyebrow.

Pidge slowly turned back around. They could tell from the expression on her face that she was deadly serious. “That's because we didn't talk about it with Coran. But we have to try and find out what he's up to, don't we? You can't possibly think their plan of sitting around and waiting is going to get us anywhere.”

“Of course it won't, but what you're suggesting is impossible,” Hunk pointed out. “You heard Coran. No Oracle, no prophecies, no quests. We're not allowed to leave.”

“Did you not hear me?” Pidge stood, and took a step towards them. “I never said we were _allowed_ to do it, I said that we're going to do it. I thought you guys would be with me on this. Zarkon is out there, and we don't know what he's going to do next. We can't risk that! We have to stop him!”

“You know I'm always with you, but... I don't know about this,” Hunk said. “I admit I don't like the idea of just sitting back and letting Zarkon do whatever he wants, but... what you're suggesting is a plan that will get us killed.”

“Maybe not,” Lance said, as he pushed himself to his feet. “We'll do it like we were talking about at the meeting. Just a scouting trip. We go, we find out what their next move is, we come back before anyone even notices we're gone. Right?”

Pidge nodded. “Exactly. A stealth mission, of sorts. We won't be fighting whatsoever. After all, we've got a few tricks up our sleeve,” she said, and tapped her bracelet. “With this, your special arrows, and... whatever you've got in that belt, Hunk, I'm sure we can do it without being noticed.”

“And then we'll have the upper hand,” Lance finished for her, which made Pidge grin. He could already feel the idea winning him over. He'd get another chance to prove himself, to make up for not being able to stop Zarkon the first time. “Coran and Shiro can't possibly be mad at us if we come back with information.”

There was a glint in Pidge's eye. “'Don't ask for permission, ask for forgiveness.' Matt uses logic like that on me all the time.”

Hunk looked between the two of them. “Oh, no. No, no, no _,_ are you guys _insane_?! Zarkon's got an army! We don't even have any idea where he is! We can't go after him, no way!”

Pidge tapped a finger to her chin. “That _is_ a problem. We could try and track him the same way we found Matt? If you give me a few days, I could—”

“Or,” Lance cut her off. “We could just go where Lotor is. He probably knows all the plans.”

“Lance, we don't know where he is either.”

“Ah... well, I _might_.” The other two stared at him with wide eyes, so Lance continued with a sigh. “I'm not positive, but... I think I had a dream about him the other night? It was different than the one with Zarkon, though. Instead of not being able to see, I couldn't _hear_ , so I didn't think it was important.”

They stared at him for a moment, and then Pidge punched him on the shoulder. “Not _important_?! You know where Lotor is and you didn't think it was important?!”

Lance rubbed his shoulder. “Okay, _ow._ And like I said, I'm not positive! I just remember... in the dream, he was on a cruise ship.”

“A... cruise ship?” Pidge echoed, then deflated and sat on the ground. “Ugh. I thought you were actually going to say something helpful for once!”

“Again, _ow._ You're the one that wanted to know!” Lance complained. “Besides, there were people I didn't know in the dream. A bunch of random monsters, mostly giants like the Galra, but also four girls next to Lotor who looked... human? They had weapons, though, so I assume they're more demigods on Zarkon's side. How would my mind have conjured that up?”

“Maybe you just wanted to see a pretty face?” Hunk offered with a shrug.

“Sure, they were pretty, but I get to see Keith every day,” Lance said, with a smirk. “That's more than enough for me.”

“Gross,” Pidge grumbled, wrinkling her nose. “Don't make me punch you again.”

“Besides,” Lance continued, as if she hadn't spoken. “Why the hell would I dream about Lotor on a cruise ship with a bunch of monsters if it wasn't, you know, one of those real, actually-happening-in-a-different-place demigod dreams.”

“I don't pretend to understand your mind, Lance,” Pidge said. “I may be a child of Athena, but there are some puzzles that even I find unsolvable. Like your unimaginable stupidity.”

“It could've been just a really strange normal dream,” Hunk said. “Once, I had a dream that you were teaching me how to tap dance.”

Lance was, for a moment, speechless. “Okay, but still, it's the only shot we have.”

Pidge seemed to consider this, then jolted and snapped her fingers. “Coordinates!”

“Um... what?”

“Coordinates!” she repeated, sounding extremely excited. “You're a child of Poseidon, you should be able to navigate with coordinates, at least on the sea. Maybe, since Lotor's on a ship, that's why you got the dream? Kind of your territory, isn't it?”

“I... guess?”

“So, maybe your dream is right!” Pidge exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. “Sweet! We can do this, then!” She looked down, and extended her hand to Hunk, who'd still not stood up from the floor. “You in, or what?”

Hunk stared at her hand, sighed, and then took it. “Alright, I'm in, if only to make sure you two don't get killed. Shay's going to kill _me_ when she finds out, though.”

“ _If_ she finds out,” Lance corrected.

Hunk shook his head. “When.”

Pidge ignored them. “Yes! The dream team is back together! We should do this as soon as possible. Lance, got any ideas?”

“Well, wherever this cruise ship is, it can't be too far from camp, so—”

The door burst open without so much as a knock, and all three of them turned with wide eyes to see Keith walk inside.

“Hey, Lance, did you—” he started, then froze when he saw the three of them. “Oh. Hi, Pidge, Hunk.”

“I knew it,” Pidge whispered. Hunk elbowed her in the side.

“Keith!” Lance's voice was an octave higher than normal. “Did... did you happen to catch any of our conversation, just now?”

Keith's eyes narrowed. “No...? What were you talking about?”

“Oh, just... just... plans for my sixteenth birthday!” Lance said, with a huge, fake smile. “We're thinking a party at the Big House.”

“But we're throwing a surprise party for you,” Keith said slowly. “Right? I thought that was the plan.”

Hunk looked like a deer in headlights, and Pidge face-palmed. “Great. Two secrets wrecked in one go. Real nice.”

“Aww, you guys!”

“Secret?” Keith asked, not bothered at all that he'd apparently ruined Lance's birthday surprise. “What do you mean, secret?”

“Nothing!” Lance said, too quickly, and Keith's eyes narrowed further.

He was silent for a long moment. Then, “You guys are going to sneak out and try and find what Zarkon's doing, aren't you?”

Pidge let out a string of colorful curses that should definitely not have been in the vocabulary of a thirteen year old. “Lance, you could at least _try_ to be a good liar.”

“Hey, I am a good liar! Keith's just good at reading me!”

“He is,” Hunk agreed, with a nod.

“So, you are?” Keith demanded, and Lance smiled sheepishly. “Lance, what in _Hades_? You're going to get yourselves killed!”

“Relax, we're not planning to be _seen,_ ” Pidge muttered with an eye roll. “Give us some credit, damn.”

“Regardless, Shiro said that we have to—”

“Shiro wants us to wait here for Zarkon to make the first move,” Pidge interrupted. “But what do _you_ want? You were one of the ones saying we should act first, weren't you?”

Keith hesitated. “I... he's right though, it's _dangerous_ —”

“So is waiting around and doing nothing,” Pidge said. “Which is why we're going. We'll be careful, I promise.”

Keith seemed to steel himself. He squeezed his eyes shut, took a deep breath. “Then I'm coming, too.”

Pidge grinned. “Of course. We're already breaking the rules, why not have a fourth person tag along? We could use your ninja skills.”

“Woah, woah, hang on,” Lance protested, standing up. “ _I'm_ the ninja. And that's a terrible idea, Keith should stay here! You said it yourself, it's dangerous!”

“Exactly why I'm going,” Keith said, staring him in the eye. “So I can make sure nothing happens to you.”

Lance felt heat rising to his face. “You're always gonna insist on being there for me, huh?”

Keith's lips quirked into a smile. “Always.” And Lance smiled back.

“Guess we're going back to protecting each other again then, huh, Samurai?”

“You know it, Sharpshooter.”

“Ugh, I hate you both,” Pidge groaned, but even she was smiling. “So. What's the plan?”

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter is pretty late. I've been in a bit of a writing slump lately! But seeing as I'm about to go on vacation for a week, I wanted to post this since the next update might be late too. Again, sorry, but I hope you guys enjoy this nonetheless!
> 
> I wanted to get this up before season seven, too, because thirteen new episodes will definitely put me in a writing mood. And I don't even think I could begin to describe the sheer number of WIPs I want to share with you guys (yeah, I plan to keep writing for VLD long after it's over, you don't have to worry about that). Don't know when I'll be done those thirteen episodes and be able to post more stuff because, again, vacation. BUT I have some very nearly finished things I think you guys will like to see, both VLD and not VLD (though I have more of the former, since it's what the People want).
> 
> I hope you love this chapter, I hope I get out of my writing slump soon, and I hope season seven doesn't kill any of us. But enough of my rambling! Enjoy, and I encourage comments, but please don't spoil me!

“Are you guys sure this is a good idea?” Hunk asked nervously as he followed the others out of Lance's cabin.

“No,” Keith answered honestly. “But has that ever stopped us before?”

Hunk let out a distressed groan, Pidge snickered, and Lance muttered something to himself in Spanish. But the four of them continued on, slowly making their way towards the pegasus stables under the cover of darkness. They were always the safest form of travel for campers since most monsters traveled by land, Zeus was highly unlikely to smite any of them, and all of them had grown into skilled flyers.

The harpies shrieked in the distance, and Lance jumped at the noise. Keith, for his part, had heard far worse sounds from monsters during the time he and Shiro were on the run and making their way to camp, and had pretty much become numb to them. When he knew the harpies wouldn't actually hurt him— despite all of Iverson's claims that he'd instructed them to eat all curfew-breaking demigods alive, he knew Coran would never let that happen —they were easy to ignore. If the unfazed expressions of Pidge and Hunk were any indication, they'd each snuck out after curfew often enough to not react, either.

The fact that Lance could still be spooked by something so small amused him. He may have only been at Camp Half-Blood for a little less than two months, but his boyfriend had survived through more than the average camper did in an entire lifetime. They'd all have to survive through much more, too, before this was over.

And... ultimately, Lance wouldn't survive at all.

The thought erased any positive thoughts from Keith's mind momentarily, and he almost spiraled down into the negatives once again, just as he had while they were playing Capture the Flag. He hated it, but... the thought of Lance dying was just too much to bear. He couldn't lose anyone else, and yet he'd _known_ that ultimately he would lose Lance before even falling for him. Sometimes he still thought that maybe they'd both be better off apart.

But all he had to do was take one look at his boyfriend, and Keith knew he never really a stood a chance. The fall was inevitable, and he just kept on falling.

He loved every second of it.

Lance was still with him, and Keith would give everything he had to keep it that way forever. Lance had promised to not give up on living, and Keith had promised to stop pushing Lance away. So they would stay together, and fight together, and make it through all of this together. He knew they could do it. They would prove the Great Prophecy wrong, and change fate itself.

“What?” Lance asked suddenly, as he reached for the back of his neck self-consciously. “Why're you staring at me?”

“I can't help myself,” Keith answered honestly, without thinking. Lance's blush was visible even in the dim lighting.

Pidge faked a gag. “Disgusting,” she grumbled. “You're as bad as Shiro and Matt.” Hunk laughed then, and she glared at him. “Don't you start. You and Shay are even worse.”

Hunk sighed, then made a clear attempt to change the subject. “Are you sure we have enough supplies though? Like, what if something goes wrong? What if it takes us a long time to find the supposed ship?”

Keith snorted. Hunk did a poor job of hiding his worry. He couldn't really blame him, though; Keith was anxious as well.

“Hunk, all the supplies we could possibly need are in that belt of yours,” Lance said. “You literally have _everything._ ”

“He doesn't _literally_ have everything,” Pidge pointed out under her breath. “You all vetoed my request to bring my laptop.”

“Oh, be quiet Pidge, it doesn't even work that well,” Lance said. “Besides, outside of the camp boundaries it'll definitely alert monsters to our location.”

“Not if I don't use it, it won't,” she argued back.

“Then why even bring it?” Keith asked with a small smile, and Pidge muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'comfort object,' and trudged ahead of them. He rolled his eyes. “It could get damaged, anyway. Laptops and water don't exactly mix, unless you want even _more_ damaged technology.”

Pidge heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Fine. You've made your point. But seriously, relax, Hunk. We hardly need anything. We go in, we figure out what Lotor's up to, we get out. Easy.”

“It's really not easy!” Hunk protested. “That sounds like just the kind of vague plan that will go horribly wrong!”

“When do our plans _not_ go horribly wrong?”

“Yeah, Lance has a point,” Keith agreed, earning him a grin from the son of Poseidon.

Pidge rolled her eyes at that. “Are you guys questioning my skills? My mother is literally the goddess of wisdom and war strategy.”

“And arts and crafts,” Hunk added helpfully. Pidge glared at him again. “Sorry.”

“Well, Athena isn't the one whose patron animal is a horse,” she said, gesturing at the stables the four of them had finally reached. “So, Lance, do you wanna head in first and make sure the pegasi don't get spooked by us?”

“Are we even sure that they'll fly us out past curfew?” Hunk asked, wringing his hands. “How do we know they're not all buddy buddy with Coran? He is half horse, after all.”

“Hunk, I seriously doubt—” Lance began, then stopped at the sound of a crash from inside the stables, followed by someone speaking softly. “What was that?”

Keith pushed himself in front of Lance and opened the door. “Hello?” he whispered into the darkness, one hand going to the lighter in his pocket that could transform into his celestial bronze sword when clicked, while the other reached for the silver dagger sheathed in his belt. “Who's there?”

He heard a muffled gasp, but no answer came. Keith took another step into the room, and felt Lance's hand grab his arm.

“Don't worry,” he said, voice low. “If it were a harpy, we would've all been killed by now.” Keith felt Lance's shudder where their skin made contact.

“They wouldn't... actually _kill_ us, right?” he asked.

“Probably not.”

Lance's grip on his arm tightened. “That 'probably' is not making me feel any better.”

“Lance?” A voice from the back of the stables spoke. “Keith?”

“Allura?” Keith squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light, but even though he finally caught sight of a shadowed figure partially hidden behind the pegasus farthest from them, he still couldn't make out any details.

Hunk reached into his tool belt and produced a box of matches and a candle, which he proceeded to light. Pidge buried her head in her hands. “It would be so much easier to just bring a small LED light,” she mourned aloud, but no one was paying any attention to her.

Allura stood at the back of the stables, looking like a deer in headlights. Her electric blue eyes were wide, her white hair piled in a messy bun on top of hr head, and her whip was wound around her right arm, which was odd, since she only did that to prepare for a fight.

That's when Keith noticed that the pegasus she was hiding behind had already been let out of its stall. He took another step into the stables, and crossed his arms. “What're you doing?”

“I... uh... I was just...” Allura trailed off, gesturing wildly with her hands as if they could somehow explain why she was in the stables after curfew all on their own. Then she paused, and her eyes narrowed. “Wait a moment. What are all of _you_ doing here?”

“Walking,” Keith said immediately, and winced as soon as it left his mouth. His voice was too defensive, too high-pitched. He'd always been a horrible liar.

“Walking,” Allura repeated slowly, as if hoping he would realize how ridiculous he sounded. “All four of you. After curfew. To the pegasus stables.”

“Okay, you got us,” Lance said smoothly, stepping in front of Keith and lifting his hands in defense. “We've been doing this from time to time. Take the pegasi out for a late night spin, fly around the lake, all that good stuff. We've never once left the barrier, I swear! It's just for a little fun. A little teenage rebellion. You're welcome to join us!”

Relief washed over Keith as Allura considered this. _Lance_ knew how to lie. Not to Keith, granted, but he was surprisingly good at lying to other people. He was the person to go to with a secret, or if you needed someone to cover for you. Lance had told him as much— with as many siblings as Lance had, he'd been forced to get good at coming up with excuses on the spot. It was just another one of Lance's qualities that Keith admired.

But belatedly, he realized that the story wouldn't work if he and Hunk couldn't nod in agreement convincingly enough. And the son of Hephaestus was even worse at trying to improvise than Keith.

He absolutely _refused_ to acknowledge the disappointed look Pidge cast at him when Allura placed a hand on her hip, obviously unimpressed.

“The harpies would attack the pegasi,” she said. “Maybe I would've bought it, Lance, if your partners in crime didn't look so surprised at the story you just told. Where are you really going?”

An awkward moment passed in which no one said anything; all four of them reluctant to admit the truth. But it seemed that Allura had reached the correct conclusion all on her own, because a look of understanding passed over her face.  
“You're going to seek out Zarkon.” It wasn't a question.

Again, none of them spoke. Allura frowned.

“Are you all crazy? It's dangerous! You could be killed!” she exclaimed, beginning to pace. “I can't believe you would just—”

“You're acting very disappointed, for someone who was even angrier about Shiro's plan to sit here and wait than we were,” Pidge interrupted, and Allura froze. “In fact, I think maybe _you_ were going to go try and find Zarkon yourself. Why else would you be here?”

Allura stared at them for a moment longer, then averted her gaze to the ground. “I _know_ it's an irrational decision,” she said softly. “I know I should stay here and remain safe, but... I can't let him do as he pleases. Not after he killed so many that I care about. I won't lose anyone else to him. I intend to bring him down. Once and for all.”

“We're right there with you, Allura,” Lance promised. “Trust me. I'm not going to let him get what he wants again. This time, we're going to stop him. To do that, we need to find out what he's planning first. And I think I might know a way.”

Her head snapped up. “How?”

“Lance had a dream,” Keith spoke up. “He thinks he knows where Lotor is. Or at least, how we can find him. If we can just spy on Lotor, chances are we'll be able to find out what all of the Galra are going to do next. And as long as we're not seen, we can get in and get back out like this.” He snapped his fingers. “A quick stealth mission. If we do this right, we'll all be safe.”

“If we don't have to fight, we won't be in danger of getting hurt. If we get back by tomorrow morning, we'll have the intel and the upper hand. And none of the others have to know that we were gone?” Allura asked.

“None of the others will have to know. At least, not until we're already back,” Keith confirmed, with a smile. “So. Are you in?”

Wordlessly, Allura opened two more stalls. Her eyes glinted in the candlelight, her determination evident on her face. “Let's go.”

 


End file.
